Coffee Makers

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

I've tried the purple 'medium' roast and found it a little on the donut shop side. There's yellow lable 'complex' I'd like to try but am not sure if Costco has that. Curious to see if any of the Kicking Horse coffees that are occasionally stocked at Costco might fit the bill....



It's about the same - they have to make up for the delivery costs somehow. I support P&S, Monogram, and others via individual bag purchases. Rosso seems to have some "buy X get a bag free" deals but it's like a 3 month supply which gets into freshness issues.

I quite like kicking horse, it's pretty good, and you can often get it on sale at Safeway or Co-Op.

Other options that are good are Lina's Italian Market. They have their own coffee (not sure who roasts it), or you can just get whole bean Lavazza. Both pretty good for the price.

[aaronck]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Have you tried the Ethical Bean or Level Ground from Costco? I like both of those.

Ethical Bean Super Dark is good, not actually that dark and not acidic at all.
For my home Americanos I use a blend of store bought beans, 70% or so Super Dark, and 30% Starbucks French roast-Super Dark on it's own is good, I just want a bit more 'kick"

[Fuzz]

I'm a fan of classic espresso, so my go-to is the Italian espresso from the Roastarie. It works really well in my machine. $14.75/lb with the CJSW discount card.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

I quite like kicking horse, it's pretty good, and you can often get it on sale at Safeway or Co-Op.

Other options that are good are Lina's Italian Market. They have their own coffee (not sure who roasts it), or you can just get whole bean Lavazza. Both pretty good for the price.

There are a ton of local roasteries in Calgary now (similar to all the start up brewing companies). I would give them a shot over the stuff you find in any super markets.

They can be pricier obviously.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

There are a ton of local roasteries in Calgary now (similar to all the start up brewing companies). I would give them a shot over the stuff you find in any super markets.

They can be pricier obviously.

I agree.
I like a lot of the local roasters.
Heritage is great. Baja Rica is really good, and Sought and Found is also nice. (I'm pretty sure I've given you enough information to triangulate my exact address)
I also like the "Bigger ones" P&S, Analog, Monagram, Rosso is probably my favourite.
If you're looking to support local they are great options.

If you want something less local, and maybe a big bigger, and want to spend a little less Kicking Horse is fantasitc.

And if cost is more of a consideration and you're looking for a good deal on pretty good coffee, Lina's is pretty good for the price, and then it's dealer's choice for a big Italian brand that makes good coffee and is relatively inexpensive.

In my house I usually have one bag of local Calgary coffee, for weekend afternoons or post dinner when I can really enjoy it.
Then if it was on sale, I'll have kicking horse as my daily driver/weekday morning coffee. First thing in the morning I'm looking for middle of the road, which doesn't mean bad or boring.
If I can't find something on sale for a decent price then I break out the "best cheap option" which is usually Lina's or Lavaza.

There's a pretty wide range of good coffee's at any price range, and they all have a place/purpose.

[Cappy]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Would that be any cheaper though?

than Phil and Seb everyday?

I would say so. (EDIT - I assumed Mr. I-Hate-Hulse is buying coffee everyday and not P&S coffee beans. If that is incorrect, then ignore me.)

Than costco? maybe not, but many of the coffee roasters in calgary would likely be better than Kirkland brand.

For example,

https://www.costco.ca/kirkland-signa...100416827.html

900 g of Kirkland brand costco (Starbuck brewed is 17 bucks

Ethical Bean Coffee Bold Dark Roast Whole Bean Coffee, 2-pack

Non-starbucks branded 2lb bag is 21 bucks (42 for 2 bags)

whereas

https://five21roasters.com/collectio...12443509751831

five 21 coffee in calgary is an excellent coffee bean is roughly double the price (14 bucks for 400g, 38 bucks for 2lb bag)

[Fuzz]

Online Costco prices are higher, I think it's about $14 for 2lbs in the warehouse.

[Cappy]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

It's about the same - they have to make up for the delivery costs somehow. I support P&S, Monogram, and others via individual bag purchases. Rosso seems to have some "buy X get a bag free" deals but it's like a 3 month supply which gets into freshness issues.

Sorry, i didnt see this on my last post.

Try five 21' or devils head etc.

they are a bit cheaper than P&S, Fratello, and Analog, etc because they don't have the brand awareness etc.

Five21 is actually really good coffee and can set up weekly monthly deliveries. free delivery over 30 bucks

[Wormius]

You can also buy directly at Cappuccino King (pretty close by to Lina’s) There is not a wide variety, but if making espresso it’s good. It used to be $12 per 450mg bag.

[Hack&Lube]

How much coffee are you guys going through?

A $20 supermarket 900 gram bag of beans nets me 60 cups of coffee (15 grams per espresso shot). Thats a whole month at two cups per day.

That's 33 cents per cup. (I'm surprised after doing the math, that's pretty close to bargain K-cup prices, I thought the whole bean route was massively cheaper).

[Wormius]

A 900g bag of Analog Godfather is about $35-$40 last time I checked at Coop. I pull two 21g shots per day, factor in a couple or grams here and there of waste, so approx 50g a day for two people, so it lasts about about 2 weeks. Maybe if I am feeling like more I might pull a shot in the afternoon. So closer to $1 per drink.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Cappy

Sorry, i didnt see this on my last post.

Try five 21' or devils head etc.

they are a bit cheaper than P&S, Fratello, and Analog, etc because they don't have the brand awareness etc.

Five21 is actually really good coffee and can set up weekly monthly deliveries. free delivery over 30 bucks

I get five21 and I think it's good coffee. Are there cheaper options? Probably. But honestly, I just like a good coffee in the morning, and if that's $2 instead of $1, so be it.

[DoubleF]

What makes me die inside a little at times, is admitting that Folgers with a pinch of salt makes for a pretty decent cup of coffee.

If looking for a coffee with a complex sweet side, I would suggest that looking into your brew method might be something worth exploring.

Before perhaps tinkering with the beans, I would suggest something that is slightly lower temp brew (ie: Aeropress, pour over) could retain more sweet and acidity than something that's higher temp (ie: Moka pot, stove top percolator, coffee maker).

If you don't have an espresso maker but like espresso and don't want to spend a fortune, I've been hearing some interesting reviews and very good things relating to the nanopresso/minipresso.



Roasting wise, my buddy told me he uses an old school hot air popcorn maker. He just ran out to a thrift store, and nabbed one for cheap that had a broken top. It gets hot, roasts and spins the beans around and is relatively easy. No idea about the smoke, but he definitely did comment there's a lot of aroma during the roasting process.

https://www.amazon.ca/Popcorn-Popper...d_i=B09GVW6VWM

It looks like one of these styles of popcorn makers, but I don't know if these function as well as the older ones.

[Calgary Highlander]

Rosso is the most affordable whole bean specialty coffee when they have the buy two, get one free. I always pick up 6lbs of coffee for ~$72 (including free shipping). Works out to $12/lb or ~$0.50/drink (I use an 18g basket for espresso shots).

It's best to buy a bunch, freeze it, wait for the next sale, and rinse and repeat. We're a large household so we go through a 2lb bag of coffee every week.

[Cappy]

Originally Posted by Slava

I get five21 and I think it's good coffee. Are there cheaper options? Probably. But honestly, I just like a good coffee in the morning, and if that's $2 instead of $1, so be it.

If people in the EPL thread didn't already think we were the same person, our choice in coffee may convince them

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Cappy

If people in the EPL thread didn't already think we were the same person, our choice in coffee may convince them

Well we've never been seen in the same room together...

[gasman]

Originally Posted by Calgary Highlander

Rosso is the most affordable whole bean specialty coffee when they have the buy two, get one free. I always pick up 6lbs of coffee for ~$72 (including free shipping). Works out to $12/lb or ~$0.50/drink (I use an 18g basket for espresso shots).

It's best to buy a bunch, freeze it, wait for the next sale, and rinse and repeat. We're a large household so we go through a 2lb bag of coffee every week.

Mind Blown.... I order Rosso twice/month (2 lbs at a time) and I've never seen or hit a BOGO sale. I will have to pay more attention

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

What makes me die inside a little at times, is admitting that Folgers with a pinch of salt makes for a pretty decent cup of coffee.

Nothing wrong with that at all. Whatever works for you. I've been through numerous types of beans and keep coming back to Nabob (1864?) and it's a solid cup of coffee to me. I buy beans and grind them in a burr grinder. It's the absolute perfect cup of coffee for me.

There's a breakfast place in Victoria called the Blue Fox. Their house coffee is the best I've ever had. So good that despite the fact I was stuffed full from the breakfast, I had to take the coffee with me in a to go cup. I thought I was going to explode trying to finish that coffee but it was sooooo good.

[edslunch]

I have a 20 year old Rancilio Silvia espresso maker. I'm convinced it's overpressure....pours shots in like 10 seconds without much crema, regardless of the coffee I use (including Illy for a treat). Has anyone adjusted the pressure on a machine like this and how difficult is it? Any suggestions where to pickup a pressure metering basket besides Amazon?

[Hack&Lube]

I have a high end espresso machine and I can honestly say one of the best cups I had recently was Foldgers at a friend's house

For my daily brew, I've actually transitioned over this summer to a Hario cold brew bottle. It's the size of a wine bottle, I cut up a few k-cups from the office into it each day before I go home and put it in the office fridge. The next day I have cold brew that I can keep boring into a whisky glass that I drink from all day.